Movable thread holder for looms



Sept. 8, 1953 R. G. TURNER 2,651,331

MOVABLE THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS; Filed Jan. 25, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 1 l h l INVENTOR RICHARD .G.TURNER 66min T M ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1953 R. e. TURNER MOVABLE THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 25, 1952 INVEINTOR ATTORNEY, 2

RICHARD e. TURNER 06min? v MHIFE'III MF w F 4 7 mmwmwflu w a H Flrvllllii. .i;nnH||| nlw um. II/ n- L F I W mmw .tionable tension when Patented Sept. 8, 1953 OFFICE MOVABLE THREAD HOLDER FOR LOOMS Richard G. Turner, Worcester, Mass., Knowles Loom Works,

Crompton &

assignor to Worcester,

Mass.,. a. corporation of Massachusetts 1 Application January 25, 1952, Serial No .'268,185

Claims. (01. 139, 247) This invention relates to improvements in thread holder mechanisms for the weft ends of bobbin changing looms and it is the general ob- J'ect of the invention to provide a thread holder which is mounted to move bodily backwardly and forwardly in the loom in such manner as to release the weft ends when the thread holder is in forward position and clamp them when the thread holder is in rearward position.

My prior Patent No. 2,531,177 sets forth a thread holder for a weft replenishing loom operating with a center filling stop motion fork wherein the thread holder is in a rearward posi tion favorable for self-threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked immediately after replenishment by a reserve bobbin, after which a thread holder is moved forwardly so that the thread of the fresh bobbin can be drawn under the filling fork. The thread holder shown in that patent is of the pneumatic type which permits the weft ends to move slightly with respect to the thread holder, if requiredto do so, when the latter moves backwardly and forwardly.

When the general principle set forth in the aforesaid patent is employed with mechanical thread holders the weft ends should be free to move relatively to the holder to avoid objecthe holder moves bodily with respect to the bobbin magazine, but the holder should holdthe weft ends firmly to facilitate threading of the shuttle when the latter is first picked after replenishment. It is an important object of the present invention to provide thread holder mechanism including a thread holder bodily movable backwardly and forwardly so controlled that the weft ends are normally loose or movable with respect to the thread holder when the latter is forward but are clamped by the thread holder during the latter part of its rearward motion.

It is a further object of the invention to mount the thread holder on a carrier which can move backwardly and forwardly and provide means operative due to backward movement of the carrier to move the thread holder to its thread clamping position.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a bodily movable thread holder made with two relatively. movable jaws one of which moves with respect. to the other incident to bodily movement of the thread holder for the purpose of alternately clamping and releasing the threads as the thread holder is moved back and forth.

It is another object of the invention to provide a thread holder unit for use, for instance, on existing looms comprising a support and a clamping or non-clamping position on a carrier ward position in full; lines and in controller preferably'connected to the support and operative due to movement of the carrier ing drawings which illustrate byway of example,

the embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. l is a side elevationofpart .of a bobbin changing loom having the invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlargedplan view. looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevation, partly in section, looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2, showing the carrier on which the thread holder is mounted,

Fig. 4 is an enlargedvertical section on line 4--4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 55, Fig. 4. I

Fig. 6 is an. enlarged detailed vertical section online 66,Fig. 5,

-Fi 7 is an enlarged detailed vertical section on line 1-1, Fig. 2, 7

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section on line 88, Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing'the lay of the loom, the shuttle and the thread holder in twopositions, and v 1 v Y Fig. 10 1s a-diagrammaticview showing the threadholder inopen thread non-clamping forthread clamping rear position in dottedlines. e Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the frame I of aweft replenishing loom supports a instance may be either r two shuttles with which the loom operates. The lay is provided with a hunter 5 for cooperation-with a transferrer latch respectively; of weft ends. These-weft ends lead tit: a threadholder designated herein generally The loom has a bottom shaft m which rotates everysecond heat of the f loom and on which is also pivoted a setting lever l4 which is normally at rest. The forward end of lever M is connected to an upright rod |5 normally in low position, but effective when raised to lift the latch 6 into the path of hunter 5 preparatory to a bobbin changing operation. Thereafter as the lay continues ;.to advance the transferrer arm I will be rocked to transfer a bobbin from one or the other of the stacks Bl, B2 into a shuttle in the shuttle 'box 4. "Ordinarily, lever |2 will rock without operative connections with lever H, but whena weft replenishing operation is to occur a dog IS on lever 2 will be moved under a lifting shelf [1 on lever |4 so that upward movement of the dog can effect rising motion 'of the rod l5 to effect setting of the loom for a bobbin changing operation.

A stationary stud has pivoted thereon a lever 2| from which depends a rod 22 the lower end of which connects with a spring 23. The lower end of spring 23 is connected by another rod 24 to a stud 25 on the lever |4 located rearward of stud l3. When lever |4 isat rest lever 2| will be stationary in normal position, but when the setting lever is rocked as already described a downward force "will be'exerted on rod 22 to rock lever 2| ina counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. '1.

A support 26 is formed for attachment to the loom frame by a bolt2'l and is provided with a vertical stud 28 on which a carrier means, such as lever 29, is pivoted for back and'forth swinging movements in opposite directions relativeito the support. The carrier lever is connected by rod 30 to lever 2| so that as the latter lever rocks as already described'the carrier lever 29 will move rearwardly, or to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, on a working stroke from its normal forward position to a rear operating position, after whichas lever |4 returns to its normal position carrier lever 29 will be given a return stroke to normal "position by a'return means, such as a spring 3|, connected to *lever 29 andalso to a part of "support 26. The lever -2| is an example of operating means to move the carrier lever 29 rearwardly.

The lay is provided with a center filling stop motion fork F, see Fig. 9, which will normally be supported by the weft of the active shuttle if the weft is intact and is -underthe fork, but if the weftis broken or does not lie under the fork the latter descends to effect loom stoppage-during forward motion of the lay -'in knownmanner.

Except as noted hereinafter the matter thus far described operates in usual manner and for further understanding of the magazine and manner of operating carrier lever 29 reference may be had to the aforesaid patent.

In carrying the present invention into effect the carrier lever 29 has an arm 34 to which an angle iron 35 is secured byscrews 36. The thread holder H comprises-a rear jaw or thread clamping member 31 secured 'to the angle iron by screws 38, see Fig. 4, and a second jaw or thread clamping member 99 in front of and supported by and slidable on member -31, as will presently be described. The front jaw includes an upright part-4'0 and'a 'U-shaped slide guide 42 secured thereto by bolts 43. Slide guide 42 has side walls 44 connected by a bottom 45pmvided with a lengthwise slot 49 through which extends a supporting screw 41 tapped into the under side of the clamp member 31. When the jaws are in their normal position they are spaced as shown in Fig. l to form a thread slot 'the rear and front parts of which are defined, respectively, by clamping jaws 31 and 39. The upper end of-slot 48 is (flared to form a thread receiving mouth 49. The screw 41 by its engagement with bottom 45 at the ends of slot 46 serves as a stop means to limit movement of the sliding front jaw with respect to the rear jaw, particularly forward motion of the front jaw away from the rear jaw.

.Movement of jaw member 39 relative to membar- 31 is effected by means of a controller which is shown as a-flexible operating wire designated generally at 50 having a flexible wire core 5| slidable in an outer flexible inclosing shield 52 which is preferably made as a closed coil spring. The shield fits into a bore 53 extendingkhorizontally and backwardly and forwardly through the lower part of clamp member -31 .and is held fixed with'respect to .the latter ;by a set screw 54. The wire core 5| extends through thezshield andrear jaw 37 and projects forwardly from the left endof the shield asviewed insFig. a into the lower end of upright part 4.0 the clamping Jaw 39 and is fixed with respect to the latter by :another set screw 95. The shield 52 is therefore fixed with respect to the rear clamp member "31 which is stationary with respect to the carrier 29, while the wire core 5| is fixed with respect to the slidable front clamp member 39.

Resilient means, such .as .a compression spring 56, surrounds and is supported by that'part 'of the wire core 5| extending between the left :end of the shield 52 and the rear-wall '51 of upright part 49 0f the clamp member 39, see Fig.4, and tends to move the front clamp member for-- wardly away from the rear clamp member. Spring 56 can becompressedto :permit "the front clamp member to move rearwardly toward :the rear member 37. The core and spring 56 .are preferably below the top edges '58 'of the side walls-49 of the slideguide 42.

The shield 52 extends along the carrier lever 29 and is attached thereto'by a clip B9,.:see:Fig. 2. The end of the shield remote from the thread holder extends through a second arm :55 .on .carrier 29 extending forwardly vfrom the latter and is secured to armfiE bya bolt 66. Theadjacent end of the wire core extends beyond .the shield and is formed with an eyefi! to tilt .aroundsa vertical pin 58 carried by the support 219, see-Figs. '7 and -8. The pin-68 has the effect o'f'holding the adjacent end of the wire core in fixed-position.

Under normal conditions spring 9| will FhOld the carrier 29 and the thread holder Si-Lin forward position, as indicated in Fig, '2, in which position the thread slot 48 will be open due to .the fact that clamping member 39 is :spaced forwardly from the clamping member 31. The weft ends from the two groups Wi and 'W2 can be passed down through mouth 49 into the thread :slot '48 and hang over the upper edge 58 :of one or the other of the walls '94 andbe entangledor wadded together as at Tto form a suiiicient weight to hold the weft ends taut but permit them to move 'reversely through the thread slot 38 toward the magazine if required to do so. The slide guide extends above the wire core and spring '56 and keeps the weft ends from engagement with the core and spring.

Whena bobbin changing operation occurscarrier lever 29 will be moved rearwardly, or to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, as already described,

to move the thread holder l-l bodily rearwardly from "its normal forward position indicated in full line's,-Fig; l0, inwhich the holder'isinn'om clamping position, to the rear clamping position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 10. At the same'time the front clamping jaw 39 will be. moved rearwardly toward the rear clamping jaw 31 by action of the shield 52 and its wire core due to movement of the carrier. During rearward movement of the thread holder H the thread slot 48 will close gradually and until clamp 39 is close to the rear clamping member the threads or weft ends will be free to have a reverse motion through the thread slot 48 toward the magazine to avoid undue tensioning which might otherwise occur due to bodily movement of the thread holder.

When the thread holder reaches substantially its rearmost position the two jaws 31 and 39 will be in clamping position to hold the threads firmly to facilitate self-threading of the shuttle when it is picked immediately after its replenishment. At the time of picking the lay will be moving rearwardly and will be approximately half Way between its front and back center positions and as the shuttle moves across the lay from the magazine end of the loom from the full line to the dotted line position of Fig. 9 the lay will continue to move rearwardly and the thread holder will be moved forwardly to the dotted line position, Fig. 9, by spring 3|. The weft W leading from the freshly transferred bobbin will therefore be drawn forwardly under the center filling fork F as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 9, and the fork, being supported, will permit continued loom operation.

It is to be understood that the invention set forth herein is not limited to use with the specific type of bobbin magazine shown in Fig. 1, nor will it be necessary in all instances to employ the two levers l2 and 4, since it will be sufiicient if the carrier lever 29 or its equivalent moves rearwardly to locate the thread holder in back and clamped position when the shuttle is picked and then moves forwardly to locate the thread holder in forward non-clamped position to move thread W under fork F. The weight of the wad T of Weft ends will ordinarily be sufiicient to cause continued unwinding of the freshly transferred bobbin even though the thread holder is in its nonclamping position while the shuttle is still in motion.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the vention sets forth thread holder mechanism which is movable bodily backwardly and forwardly in the loom and acts during backward movement to clamp the threads to facilitate selfthreading of the shuttle when the latter is picked after replenishment and then moves bodilyforwardly to move the thread of the freshly transferred bobbin under the center filling fork. It will also be seen that the invention sets forth a unit U shown more in Figs. 2 and 3 comprising the support 26 and the parts on it which is an assembled structure applicable if desired to existing looms. The controller may be considered as comprising the flexible wire 50 including the shield 52 which is fixed with respect to the carrier and the flexible wire core 5| one end of which is connected to the stationary support 26 and the other end of which is connected to the movable jaw member. Also, the width of the thread slot 48 varies during back and forth swinging of the thread holder and acts to clamp the threads during the latter part of the rearward movement. thereby permitting the weft ends to move re- .verselythrough the slot if need be to avoid undue tension. When the thread holder is moving forwardly the slot 48 increases in width so that the 'of the weft ends by the .2| and the spring 'wad T of weft ends may act to restore the weft ends to their normal movement of the thread position during forward holder to avoid breakage lay which might otherwise occur if the threads were slack. The lever 3| may be considered generally as comprising means which effects first a rearward movement of the carrier 29 and then a forward movement, but more specifically the lever 2| may be thought of as operating means to effect rearward movement and the spring 3| as return means to restore the thread holder to its normal forward position. v

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. A thread holder mechanism unit for the reserve bobbin weft ends of a weft replenishing loom comprising a support for attachment to the loom, a carrier mounted on the support for movement relative thereto in thread holder mounted on the carrier comprising a thread clamping member fixed with respect to the carrier and a second thread clamping member movable toward and from the first member, and a controller for the second member operatively connected to the latter and to said support effective due to movement of the carrier in one direction with respect to said support to move the second member toward the first member and effective due to movement of the carrier in the opposite direction with respect to the support to move said second member away from the first member.

7 2. The thread holder mechanism unit set forth in claim 1 wherein resilient means tends normally to move said second member away from the first member.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein the first member comprises a thread engaging jaw and the second member comprises a thread engaging .jaw slidable on and supported by the first member. I 1

4. The thread holder mechanism unit set forth in claim 1 wherein said controller comprises a flexible shield, fixed with respect to the carrier and a flexible wire core slidable in the shield 01)- eratively connected to said support andto said second clamping member.

5. The thread holder mechanism unit set forth claim 4 wherein a compression spring surrounds part of and is supported by the wire core and tends to effect relative separation of said members.

6. A thread holder mechanism unit for the reserve bobbin weft ends of a weft replenishing loom comprising a support for attachment to the-loom, a carrier pivoted on the support for swinging movement in opposite directions relative to the support, a thread holder mounted on the carrier comprising two'weft end engaging members which are movable relatively to each other either to weft end clamping position or non-clamping position, and a controller operatively connected to said support and to one of said members efiective due to movement of the carrier in one direction relative to the support tocause said members to move to clamping position-and effective'due to movement of the carrier in the'opposite direction'with respect to said support to cause saidmembers to move to non- I clamping .position.

7. In a thread holder provided with a thread slot to receive the reserve bobbin weft ends of mes es-1 thread clamping jaw member forming the opposite side of said slot slidable on the first member toward and from the latter to vary the width of said slot, 2, closed coil spring shield fixed with respect to the first member, and a flexible 'wire core slidable in the shield and secured to the second member, sliding movement of the wire core within the shield effecting relative movement of said members to vary the width of said thread slot.

8. In a thread holder provided with a thread slot to receive the reserve bobbin weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, a thread clamping jaw member forming one side of said slot, a second thread clamping jaw member forming the opposite side of said slot slidable on the first member toward and from the latter to vary the width of said slot, 5 closed coil spring shield extending into and secured to the first member, and a flexible wire core slidable within the shield extending through the first member and secured to the second member, sliding movement of the wire core within the shield effecting relative movement of said members to vary the width of said thread slot.

9. In a thread holder provided with a thread slot to receive the reserve bobbin weft ends of a weft replenishing loom, a thread clamping aw member forming one side of said slot, 3. second thread clamping jaw member forming the opposite side of said slot, a slide guide fixed with respect to the second member having sliding engagement with and supported by the first member enabling the second member to move relatively to the first member to vary the width of said slot, 9, closed coil spring shield fixed with respect to the first member, and a flexible wire core slidable in the shield and secured to the second member, sliding movement of the wire core within the shield effecting relative movement of said members to vary the width of said thread slot.

10. The thread holder set forth in claim 9 wherein a stop on the first member engages said slide guide to limit movement of the second member away from the first member.

11. The thread holder set forth in claim 9 wherein said slide guide extends above said shield and wire core and extends across said slot to support weft ends in said slot out of engagement with said shield and core.

12. In thread holder mechanism for a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having a reserve bobbin magazine from which weft ends extend and having a backwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay provided with a center filling fork, a thread holder for the weft ends comprising two members capable of being either in clamping position or non-clamping position relative to the weft ends, means effecting bodily backward motion of the thread holder to a position to facilitate threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked subsequent to replenishment by a bobbin from the magazine and thereafter effecting bodily forward motion of the thread holder to a position to facilitate movement of the thread extending from'the thread holder to the shuttle under the filling fork, anda controller for the thread holder operative due to bodily backward motion of the thread holder to cause said members to be in the thread clamping posi- "tion thereof and operative due to bodily forward motion of the thread holder to cause said memhere to be in the non-clamping position thereof.

13. In thread holder mechanism for a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having a reserve bobbin magazine from which weft ends extend and having a backwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay provided with a center filling fork, a thread holder for the weft ends comprising relatively movable members capable of being either in clamping position or nonclamping position relative to the weft ends, carrier means mounting the thread holder for movement backwardly and forwardly in the loom, operating means cooperating with the carrier means effecting backward motion of the carrier means to locate the thread holder in a position to facilitate threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked subsequent to replenishment by a bobbin from the magazine, return means thereafter effecting forward motion of the carrier means to locate the thread holder in a position to facilitate movement of the thread extending from the thread holder to the shuttle under the filling fork, and a controller for the thread holder operative due to backward motion of the carrier means and thread holder by said operating means to move said members to the thread clamping position thereof and operative due to forward motion of the carrier means and the thread holder by said return means to move said members to the non-clamping position thereof.

14. The structure set forth in claim 13 wherein the carrier comprises a lever having an arm on which the thread holder is mounted and having a second arm and the controller comprises a flexible wire including a shield secured to said second arm and a. flexible wire core slidable in said shield and connected at one end thereof to one of said members of the thread holder and having the other end thereof fixed.

15. In thread holder mechanism for a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having a reserve bobbin magazine from which weft ends extend and having a backwardly and forwardly reciprocating lay provided with a center filling fork, a thread holder for the weft ends which moves bodily from a forward position to a rearward position to facilitate self-threading of the shuttle when the latter is picked subsequent to replenishment thereof by a bobbin from the magazine and then returns to forward position to facilitate movement under the filling fork of the thread extending from the shuttle to the thread holder, said thread holder comprising two relatively movable thread clamping jaws which are in non-clamping position relative to the weft ends when the thread holder is in forward position but are movable to thread clamping position, and means cooperating with the thread holder effective due to bodily movement of the latter to the rearward position thereof to cause said clamping jaws to be in clamping position when the thread holder is in rear position thereof.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

